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Saturday marked the 18th consecutive season UM opener I’ve covered for the Palm Beach Post and it was easily the most exciting and interesting of the bunch.
Here’s a look back at Saturday’s game:

OFFENSE:Duke Johnson had a coming-out party that will long be remembered by UM fans. The freshman had only seven carries yet was easily the Hurricanes’ most dominating player in the game. The biggest worry with Johnson is that he’s so dynamic a playmaker that coaches may be tempted to overuse him. Quarterback Stephen Morris also had a sensational game even though his statistics (28-of-45 for 207 yards) aren’t eye-popping. The junior had a minimum of 5-7 passes dropped, including one that ended up as his only interception of the game. Johnson wasn’t the only freshman to have a breakout performance. Malcolm Lewis (4 catches, 42 yards, one touchdown) looks like he’ll be able to help the Hurricanes plenty in the passing game and right offensive tackle Ereck Flowers went pretty much unnoticed, which is a good thing. It’s an open question when Seantrel Henderson returns but if Flowers keeps playing the way he did Saturday, it may not matter. Also big props to the rest of the offensive line, whose starters played virtually every snap in the game and limited Boston College to one sack. Clive Walford had a nice block on one of Johnson’s touchdown runs, but the tight ends will have to do better than four receptions for 22 yards to keep some of the heat off of UM’s young receivers. Finally, you have to love the balance in UM’s offensive attack – 208 yards rushing and 207 yards passing. That will win you a lot of games. GRADE: A.

UM freshman Duke Johnson stole the show on Saturday. (Miami Herald)

DEFENSE: Not a complete disaster, but close. UM allowed 441 passing yards on Saturday, the third-most in school history. That would be embarrassing enough except that it came against a Boston College team that ranked No. 100 in passing offense last season and was missing two of its top pass-catching targets. BC receivers weren’t just wide open, they were WIDE OPEN all game long. Especially disconcerting was watching Vaughn Telemaque struggle so badly. Telemaque is a senior with more starts than anyone on UM’s roster. Randy Shannon once told me that Telemaque could “turn into the next Reed.” I assumed he was talking about Edward Reed, but maybe he meant Harry Reid. As bad as the pass defense played, the Hurricanes’ pass rush was even worse. The defensive line got zero pressure the entire game, allowing BC quarterback Chase Rettig to play ‘pick the open receiver.” Anthony Chickillo appeared so frustrated that he was called for a roughing-the-quarterback penalty on one of the few times a UM lineman got within sniffing distance of Rettig. UM only had 24 sacks last season, one of the lowest totals in school history. After Saturday, 24 sacks for the season is starting to look pretty good. But like I said, it wasn’t a complete disaster on defense. Middle linebacker Denzel Perryman turned the game around with his 41-yard interception return for a touchdown on the last snap of the first quarter and generally played very well. The sophomore will be an All-ACC player by the time he leaves UM. Linebacker Eddie Johnson also played well, causing a fumble and finishing with a tackle for lost yardage. Defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio has to find a way to get Johnson more snaps. The Hurricanes’ defense also generated three turnovers, which is 20 percent of their total last season (for the mathematically challenged, UM generated only 15 turnovers in 2011.) After Saturday’s performance, one thing is for certain: D’Onofrio has his work cut out. GRADE: D.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Besides Perryman’s interception and Duke Johnson’s two long touchdown runs, the game’s biggest play from UM’s vantage point was punter Dalton Botts scooping up an errant snap (memo to Olsen Pierre: get the hell out of the way) and getting the ball off to avoid a potential disaster late in the first half. Botts, a quarterback in high school, displayed pretty good athletic ability on the play. Kudos also to Jake Wieclaw who nailed two short field goal attempts. The kickoff return duo of Phillip Dorsett and Duke Johnson is solid and coach Al Golden’s coverage units are always good. GRADE: A.

COACHING: A game ball should go to offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, who kept Boston College’s defense off-balance and out of breath with a hurry-up, no-huddle attack. Not sure we can blame D’Onofrio for anything that happened on defense, although the heavy rotation of players didn’t appear to benefit the Hurricanes. Golden deserves plenty of credit for keeping the Baby Canes focused after they went down 14-0 in the first half. Admit it. You though the game was over at that point. GRADE: B.

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[…] Mark D’Onofrio and Jedd Fisch were on the sidelines … 2012 game is best remembered as The Duke Johnson Show, in which the freshman tailback went for 214 yards and two touchdowns on 13 touches. The touchdown […]

[…] Mark D’Onofrio and Jedd Fisch were on the sidelines … 2012 game is best remembered as The Duke Johnson Show, in which the freshman tailback went for 214 yards and two touchdowns on 13 touches. The touchdown […]